Johann Ewald

Johann Ewald began as a commoner in one of the states of the Holy Roman Empire who rose above the constraints of his time. As a soldier, he fought in all of the great conflicts of the latter eighteenth century, and he keenly recorded his observations throughout these adventures. Due to his observations on the conduct of warfare, he has become one of the most important authorities on eighteenth century small-unit tactics...amassing a vast wealth of experience leading troops in the art of irregular warfare or petite guerre. He later wrote several works based on his experiences, and received the favorable comment of Frederick the Great, the warrior King of Prussia. In addition, Ewald composed a diary of his experiences in the American War of Independence. Among all but a small group of dedicated scholars of the American War of Independence, Johann von Ewald has vanished into obscurity...Ewald's story tells much of the story of warfare in the second half of the eighteenth century. Instead of focusing on the great battles, however, Ewald's biography focuses on the conduct of irregular operations: raids, ambushes and the like. Ewald allows readers a view into this often-neglected dimension of eighteenth century warfare, and the proposed biography will thoroughly explore the topic through his writings, both his military treatises and his diary of the American War of Independence.